[the] deeds (siddhiH) of good people (satAM) bring fruits (sAdhye) by the grace of (prasAdAt) that shiva (tasya dhUrjaTe) [mahAdeva, lord of lords], on whose forehead the crescent moon (shashinaH kalA) [adorns] like the surf (phena) of (the river) gangA (jAhnavI) [ganges!]

siddhaH = accomplishedsiddhiH = accomplishment. in special sense, there are eight specific siddhiH.

shruti (श्रुति)= that which is heard [in the presence of the guru](also the 'veda's, because they were only heard in directshrutaH = that which has been heard [in class from guru, not read alone]hita = benefitupadesha = advicepaTu (पटु) = expert; vAgpaTu (वाग्पटु)= orator, expert at speakingchitra (चित्र)= varied (a picture), vichitra = specially variedvid = root of 'to know'; many word form from thisatra = here; kutra = where ; yatra ... tatra = where ... thereanyatra = else where sarvatra = every where

so this hitopadesha when heard, will not only give you expertise in speaking sanskrit, it also gives you practical wisdom and variety of topics to discuss, never a dull conversation.

this is the main aim for me to start this blog, and to start with hitopadesha.hitopadesha is an adaptation from pancha-tantra, and when it came out in 11th century, it became a staple textbook for starting students, since it ws made extra simple but the shloka standard was kept high enough, from many varied sources - best of both worlds.